Catholic priest Anthony Odiong
A Texas jury has found Nigerian-born Catholic priest Anthony Odiong guilty of segxwally assaulting women who sought his spiritual guidance, delivering a swift verdict after just two hours of deliberation in a case that has cast a dark shadow over clerical abuse of pastoral authority.
The 57-year-old was convicted on three counts — one count of first-degree segxwal assault and two counts of second-degree segxwal assault — following a trial in Waco, Texas, and now faces the possibility of life imprisonment when sentencing proceedings commence on Monday.
Prosecutors argued that Odiong systematically exploited the vulnerability of women who came to him during periods of profound personal crisis, manipulating his position as a spiritual guide to coerce them into segxwal relationships. Two women took the stand during the trial, offering harrowing accounts of how the priest leveraged his clerical authority to pressure them into segxwal acts at their lowest moments.
One victim recounted that the abuse began while Odiong was counselling her through a divorce, while the second testified that he used the pretence of spiritual guidance as cover for his coercive behaviour. Both accounts painted a consistent picture of a clergyman who weaponised faith and emotional dependence for personal gratification.
The case first attracted wider public attention following a 2024 investigative report by The Guardian detailing misconduct allegations against the priest. Subsequent investigations by law enforcement unearthed further damning evidence, including DNA material linking Odiong to a child conceived during his ministry in Louisiana.
Ordained in Nigeria in 1993, Odiong subsequently acquired United States citizenship and served in Catholic parishes across Texas and Louisiana before being suspended in 2019 following earlier allegations of impropriety. His legal team maintained throughout the trial that the relationships in question were consensual, a position that the jury roundly rejected after weighing the evidence presented by the prosecution.
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